Communication device for providing information utilizing subscriber line

ABSTRACT

A communications device ( 11 ) is connected with a subscriber switching station ( 13 ) through a subscriber line ( 12 ). The subscriber switching station ( 13 ) has a subscriber switching system ( 14 ), a switch ( 15 ), and an LAN ( 16 ). The subscriber line ( 12 ) is selectively connected with the subscriber switching station ( 14 ) and the LAN ( 16 ) through the corresponding switch ( 15 ). A conventional dial operation is performed for conventional communications. On the other hand, “0AB0” is dialed to participate communications over the LAN ( 16 ) when accessing a resource for example the WWW server ( 17 ) on the LAN ( 16 ). Then, a transfer request is sent to the WWW server ( 17 ) using a conventional procedure, and the device receives a required HTML document and the associated files.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a communications technique suitable forproviding information relevant to a community or a local society.

BACKGROUND ART

A variety of servers are connected with wide area networks and localarea networks to compose the Internet. Nodes on the Internet areuniquely assigned with IP addresses, and worldwide communications amongnodes can be performed by specifying corresponding IP addresses. Forinstance, people access a WWW server storing a target HTML document tobrowse the document.

By the way, a user would rather not want to collect information all overthe world in many cases but information relevant to the community. Forinstance, a user wants to get information as to services provided by thelocal government, local shops, local volunteer activities, etc.Moreover, a user often wants to do opinion exchange and enjoy bulletinboard services within the local area.

For those purposes, a user of the Internet finds out an appropriateserver by means of one or more retrieval services provided through theInternet, and brows contents on the server. Moreover, if it isnecessary, the user registers the server in the user's book mark, etc.However, the retrieval services and the book mark registration onlyprovide a possible access route to information as to the community. Theuser still sees a vast uncultivated field of the Internet connected withnodes spread in the world. A bird's-eye view of information relevant tothe community could not be provided.

The present invention accordingly aims at providing a communicationstechnique suitable for providing information relevant to a community.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, in order to attain the abovementioned object, a communications system comprising: branching meansconnected with a communications line; switching system means connectedwith one terminal of the branching means; and, information providingserver, provided as associated with the switching system means, andconnected with another terminal of the branching means, for providing asubscriber device with service in response to a request through thecommunications line.

The above mentioned communications line can be a subscriber lineconnected with a subscriber device or a relay line connecting aswitching station with a higher order switching station. Thecommunication line can be cable or wireless.

In this configuration, the branching means enables not only aconventional telephone call but also access to a server. The access tothe server is basically limited to the territory of the correspondingswitching station, because the access is performed through the branchpoint in front of the subscriber switching station or the relayswitching station. The service provided by the server can be limited towhat is associated with that territory. Therefore, a user can obtaininformation mainly relevant to the community.

Further, the information stored on the server can be accessed withoutusing the facilities implemented at the back side from the branch pointin the switching system (circuit switching or store-and-forwardswitching system), and therefore, the service cost can be suppressed toextremely low.

The server can be an information providing server such as a WWW server,or a mail server, and in other words, it can be what provides a clientwith a any type of service. Further, the branching means and the servercan be placed in the corresponding switching station. Of course, thosefacilities can be placed out of the switching station.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting the overall configuration of thefirst embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a switch 15 shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting the overall configuration of thesecond embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1shows an overview of the first embodiment of the present invention, andin this figure, a communications terminal (for example, a personalcomputer having a modem, a personal digital assistant, an intelligenttelephone set) 11 is connected with a subscriber switching station 13through a subscriber line 12. The communications terminal 11 has clientfunctions to enjoy the services provided by servers 17 to 20 describedin detail later. Moreover, the communications terminal 11 can have atelephone call function. The subscriber switching station 13 has asubscriber switching system 14, a switch 15, and an LAN (Local AreaNetwork) 16. The subscriber line 12 is selectively connected with thesubscriber switching system 14 and the LAN 16 through the correspondingswitch 15. A pair of a subscriber switching system 14 and a LAN 16 arebasically provided for each subscriber switching station 13.Accommodated subscriber lines 12 at each switching station may bedivided into two or more classes, and a switching system 14 and a LAN 16may be installed for each class. The LAN 16 contains a WWW server 17 andan SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server 18 and a POP (Post OfficeProtocol) server 19 and a proxy server 20, etc. The WWW server 17supplies an HTML document and associated files to the communicationsterminal 11 based on the HTTP protocol through the subscriber line 12and the switch 15. The SMTP server 18 forwards an e-mail based on theSMTP protocol. The POP server 19 receives an e-mail forwarded by theSMTP protocol. The proxy server 20 enables the connection with internet21.

Moreover, the subscriber switching station 13 is connected with a relayswitching station 23 through a trunk or relay line 22. That relayswitching station 23 can be connected with a higher order switchingstation (not shown). That relay switching station 23 has a relayswitching system 24. Moreover, a switch 15 and an LAN 16 can beinstalled in the relay switching station 23 as shown with broken lines.

FIG. 2 illustrates the configuration of the switch 15, and in thisfigure, the switch 15 has a switch function unit 15 a and a control unit15 b. In this embodiment, for conventional communications (a telephonecall) using switched connection over the switching system 14, aconventional subscriber number is dialed as it is. On the other hand, aservice identification number, for instance, “0AB0” (A and B are forinstance “5”) is dialed, when accessing a resource over the LAN 16. Thecontrol unit 15 b of the switch 15 detects the service identificationnumber, and then switches the switch function unit 15 a from theswitching system 14 to the LAN 16. The switch can be returned to theoriginal state by a possible method. One method is to dial anotherservice identification number “0AB0” (a, b are for example “3”).

Between the switch 15 and the LAN 16, an access server or another likedevice, not shown, is placed for interface between signals on thesubscriber line 12 and on the LAN 16.

Moreover, the control unit 15 b performs certain processing when thecommunications terminal 11 receives a call-out signal. For instance,upon receipt of a call-out signal, the switch function unit 15 a isconnected with the switching system 14 side for conventionalcommunications (a telephone call). Alternatively, an HTML documentindicating of receipt of the call-out signal (the telephone number, etc.of the calling party) is sent to the communications terminal 11, andthen the user can control the switch. The data of received calls can berecorded with a recording function, and a server such as the POP server19 can be used for confirmation or replay of the recorded calls.

In this embodiment, a destination number is dialed in a conventional wayfor conventional communications. On the other hand, “0AB0” is dialed toparticipate communications over the LAN 16, when accessing a resource onthe LAN 16 for example a web page of the WWW server 17. Then, a transferrequest is sent to the WWW server 17 using a convention procedure(CSMA/CD), and the communication terminal receives the requested HTMLdocument and associated files.

As such, a resource on the LAN 16 can be accessed by for example apersonal computer, and for example a web page is browsed. The resourceson the LAN 16 can be controlled or administrated within the LAN, andtherefore be regulated suitable for the concerned community. The systemprovides one of the best means to publicize, for instance, details ofservices provided by the local government, information as to the localschools, details of public facilities, etc. Moreover, it provides localcommercial entities with one of the best advertisement method. Moreover,it is suitable also for purchase orders. For that purpose, data can beaccepted by using CGI (Common Gateway Interface), etc. at the WWW server17. Moreover, mails among local users can be exchanged.

When the territory of the switching station 13 is smaller than the rangein which common information is to be shared (for example anadministrative unit), a plurality of switching stations 13 belonging tothe range can share at least a portion of the information and store thesame copies respectively. Oppositely, when the territory of theswitching station 13 is bigger than the range in which commoninformation is to be shared, the information can be divided intosub-sets to be provided (for corresponding smaller areas). Moreover, theswitching station 13 can have a plurality of LAN 16 (with servers). Thecommunications terminal 11 can be connected with a required LAN using acorresponding additional service identification number assigned for thecorresponding area. For instance, a LAN 16 can be provided for eachdistrict section within Tokyo, such as, Chiyoda-ku, Chuo-ku. Moreover,two or more hosts can be installed in a single LAN 16 and a set ofservers can be assigned to each small area. For instance, a WWW server17 and an SMTP server 18 and a POP server 19 are provided for each smallarea. In this case, a user can get information relevant to thecorresponding community by specifying the hostname.

While, in this embodiment, the LAN 16 is provided to enable access to avariety of servers such as the WWW server 17, the terminal can beconnected with the server 17, etc. directly through the switch 15.

Moreover, it is possible to access a resource on the Internet 21 throughthe proxy server 20.

Moreover, a frequency division technique can be used for separationbetween conventional communications and other communications related toresources on the LAN 16. In that implementation, a splitter can be usedin place of the switch 15. For instance, it is possible to docommunications related to the LAN using a digital subscriber line method(ADSL, etc.).

Moreover, in a non-activated state, the communications terminal 11 isswitched to the LAN 16, and upon receipt of a control signal ofcall-out, the switch function unit 15 a is controlled to switch to theswitching system 14. Because the access to the LAN 16 does not apply theload to the switching system 15, the service cost of such animplementation is considered as inexpensive.

FIG. 3 illustrates the second embodiment of the present invention. Inthis embodiment, the invention is applied to a radio communicationssystem. While a mobile communications system is exemplified here, one ormore mobile stations can be replaced by fixed radio communicationsdevices. In FIG. 3, the corresponding parts to those in FIG. 1 areindicated with the corresponding referential symbols.

In FIG. 3, a mobile station 31 and a base station 32 are connectedthrough a wireless channel. The base station 32 is connected with aswitching station (mobile switching station) 13.

Also according to this embodiment, the resources on the LAN 16 can beaccessed by dialing the predetermined service identification number.Remarkably, it is predicted that each resource on the LAN 16, which isaccessed by the mobile station 31 such as a mobile personal computer, ora personal digital assist, stores the information relevant to the areawhere the mobile station 31 stays, because the LAN 16 is provided forthe switching station 13 covering the area. Therefore, the system issuitable for providing people on travel or transit with the informationrelevant to the local area, for instance, traffic information, weatherinformation, shopping information.

As described above, according to the embodiments of the presentinvention, it is possible to access to an information providing LANdirectly through a cable or wireless subscriber line, and obtaininformation relevant to a community. In this configuration, informationservices can be provided with more inexpensive cost, because what ismainly used is only subscriber lines. Moreover, it is possible toconnect also with the Internet, and an appropriate charge can be addedin this case.

Subscriber lines can be conventional telephone lines or ISDN lines.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY OF THE INVENTION

As described above, according to the present invention, one or moreservers are provided as associated with a switching station, so as toprovide mainly information relevant to a community.

1. A communications system comprising: a subscriber switching systemprovided at a subscriber switching station for exchanging telephonecalls; a LAN associated with the subscriber switching system, the LANnot being directly connected to an Internet; branching means provided atthe subscriber switching station, the branching means having a commonterminal point, a first branching terminal point and a second branchingterminal point, the common terminal point being connected with asubscriber line at a side of the subscriber switching system, the firstbranching terminal point being connected with the subscriber switchingsystem, and the second branching terminal point being connected with theLAN, the common terminal point and the first branching terminal pointbeing used in combination for establishing a first path for conventionaltelephone communications using the subscriber switching system, and thecommon terminal point and the second branching terminal point being usedin combination for establishing a second path for data communicationstransferred over the LAN; and, at least one information providing serverconnected to and associated with the LAN, for providing a communicationterminal with information through the LAN and the subscriber line. 2.The communications system of claim 1, wherein the LAN connected with theat least one information providing server is placed together with thesubscriber switching system in a corresponding switching station.
 3. Thecommunications system of claim 1, wherein the at least one informationproviding server comprises a document browsing server.
 4. Thecommunications system of claim 1, wherein the at least one informationproviding server comprises a mail server.
 5. The communication system ofclaim 1, wherein call-out information is generated in response to acall-out signal from the subscriber switching system to the subscriberline, and the call-out information is supplied on the subscriber line.6. The communications system of claim 1, wherein the branching meansconnects the subscriber line with the subscriber switching system inresponse to a call-out signal sent from the switching system to thesubscriber line.
 7. The communications system of claim 1, wherein thesubscriber line is connected with the at least one information providingserver based on a service identification number.
 8. The communicationssystem of claim 7, wherein the at least one information providingserver, one information providing server being provided for each of atleast one community, is accessed by inputting the service identificationnumber followed by a corresponding identification code for one of the atleast one community.
 9. The communications device of claim 1, wherein anaccess point to the Internet is connected with the LAN.
 10. Thecommunications system of claim 1, wherein the branching means separatessignals based on frequency bands.
 11. A communications systemcomprising: a mobile switching system provided at a mobile switchingstation for exchanging mobile telephone calls; a LAN associated with themobile switching system, the LAN not being directly connected to anInternet; branching means provided at the mobile switching station, thebranching means having a common terminal point, a first branchingterminal point and a second branching terminal point, the commonterminal point being connected with a subscriber line from a basestation at a side of the mobile switching system, the first branchingterminal point being connected with the mobile switching system, and thesecond branching terminal point being connected with the LAN, the commonterminal point and the first branching terminal point being used incombination for establishing a first path for mobile telephonecommunications using the mobile switching system, and the commonterminal point and the second terminal branching terminal point beingused in combination for establishing a second path for datacommunications transferred over the LAN; and, at least one informationproviding server connected to and associated with the LAN, for providinga mobile station with information through the LAN, the susbcriber line,and the base station.
 12. A communications system comprising: asubscriber switching system provided at a subscriber switching stationfor exchanging telephone calls; at least one communication terminalseparate from and connected to the subscriber switching station; a LANassociated with the subscriber switching system, the LAN not beingdirectly connected to an Internet; branching means provided at thesubscriber switching station, the branching means having a commonterminal point, a first branching terminal point and a second branchingterminal point, the common terminal point being connected with asubscriber line at a side of the subscriber switching system, the firstbranching terminal point being connected with the subscriber switchingsystem, and the second branching terminal point being connected with theLAN, the common terminal point and the first branching terminal pointbeing used in combination for establishing a first path for conventionaltelephone communications using the subscriber switching system, and thecommon terminal point and the second branching terminal point being usedin combination for establishing a second path for data communicationstransferred over the LAN; and, at least one information providing serverconnected to and associated with the LAN, for providing the at least onecommunication terminal with information through the LAN and thesubscriber line.